A raster graphics architecture and a raster graphics device are described. The graphics architecture is an extension of the RasterOp model and supports operations for rectangle movement, text writing, curve drawing, flood, and fill. The architecture is intended for implementation by both closely and loosely coupled display subsystems. The first implementation of the architecture is a remote raster display connected by fiber optics to a VAX minicomputer. The device contains a separate microprocessor, frame buffer, and additional local memory: it is capable of executing raster commands on operands in local memory or VAX host memory